Congressman Jeb Hensarling (TX-05) issued the following statement today in observance of Juneteenth:

“Today Texans and people across America celebrate Juneteenth. On this day in 1865, Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended. Two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, Texas slaves heard for the first time that they were free.

“There is no other land on earth like America, but we’ve had our share of failings. And we’ve had no greater failing than allowing slavery to exist in the land of the free.

“Honoring important milestones in our nation’s quest for equality and justice, like Juneteenth, are wonderful reminders for us to live our lives toward the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – that all of our children may live in a society where they are judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character – and to work to make a more perfect Union by keeping America free.”